Uttarakhand crisis: Congress, BJP call on President Pranab Mukherjee

NEW DELHI: With BJP and Congress both calling on President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday over the political crisis in Uttarakhand, the ball is in the court of governor K K Paul who may have to take a call on competing claims about the competence and role of the speaker who is to conduct a floor test by March 28.

BJP members said the party would oppose any move by speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal to disqualify nine Congress rebels who did not support the state budget on Thursday. BJP said such an action would only establish that the rebels had not supported the Harish Rawat government and effectively defeated the finance bill.

The breakaway group did not accompany the BJP delegation that met the President as it was felt this would give Congress a handle to label them defectors who should be disqualified as MLAs.

Shortly after, a group of Congress veterans met the President, alleging that the BJP, backed by the Centre, was destabilising opposition governments.

Pointing out that the speaker had rejected the call for division and declared the budget passed by a voice vote, BJP sources said the Congress government was clearly reduced to a minority and was effectively defeated. Disqualifying the Congress rebels before the trust vote will amount to manipulating the strength of the assembly, they said.

Paul may have to take the crucial decision whether in view of the happenings in the assembly and BJP's pleas, the strength of the assembly is to frozen to what it was on the day of the vote on the budget. If this is the case, the advantage may rest with BJP and its few friends. Rebel MLA Subodh Uniyal said, "The joint demand of all nine of us is that chief minister Harish Rawat should resign". There are precedents in Parliament where MPs have lost their membership for speaking against their parties.

With courts viewing such situations in different ways, BJP leaders decided not to take a chance and the rebels will seek time with Mukherjee separately.

A delegation of senior Congress leaders A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni among others also met the President. "We apprised the President how BJP backed by the central government is destabilising opposition and Congress governments. Some weeks back, it happened in Arunachal Pradesh and now in Uttarakhand," Azad told reporters.

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Uttarakhand crisis: Congress, BJP call on President Pranab MukherjeeDescription:Times Now